bottle

Both the shape and the detailed enameled decoration of this large, long-necked bottle were inspired by Islamic glass vessels. Philippe-Joseph Brocard (1831–1896) specialized in glass ves¬sels that imitated Oriental or Islamic styles, and he soon became the leading glassmaker in this genre. He first exhibited his costly glassware at the 1867 world’s fair in Paris. Brocard was praised for his outstanding ability to imitate “Oriental glasses,” and for the “interesting art” he introduced in France. Starting in the mid-19th century, western Europe showed a heightened interest in the eastern Mediterranean and the Ottoman Empire. This interest resulted from the travels of scholars and artists—the so-called Orientalists—to North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824– 1904), for example, journeyed extensively to explore this exotic world, and he produced historical paintings inspired by it. French archaeologists were also active in this region, and their excavations began to be published and illustrated. This interest in the Orient led to a new approach in French decorative arts, in which Islamic works were replicated and reinterpreted for a Western audience. This signed bottle dates from that period. It reflects the qualities that marked Brocard’s style: finely blown glass vessels with meticulously applied enamels and gilding in the Islamic manner. It is also one of the larger objects produced by the French artist; it was meant to be displayed in the home and appreciated as a showpiece. Brocard exercised enormous design influence both nationally and internationally. Companies such as Lobmeyr and Steigerwald followed his lead and spread Orientalism further afield.